The Caged Birds Song
by Chaos Poet
Summary: Even when it's trapped in a cage, a birds song is still just as beautiful.


Authors Note: This is my very first Broken Sky fic ever. I hope that you all enjoy it. I know that it's going against the cannon version of the story but I really like Aurin and Ryushi a lot more than I do Ryushi and Calica. This is rated M due to language and sexual situations. Before you even start to scroll and look for them, I will not be writing a grossly graphic LEMON. I will have it as tasteful as possible. Also, if you want to get in touch with me, there's a link to my homepage on my profile.

Disclaimer: I really do wish that I owned Broken Sky, but alas, I own nothing but copies of this great series.

The Caged Birds Song.

Aurin didn't know what to think. It had been so long since any one person was able to make her feel the way she did. Nobody dared speak to her with such an impetuous tongue, and not a single soul had the gall to openly insult her. She was the ruler of her land and an outsider had the audacity to defy her.

"What is it you hope to achieve," she grumbled, her thoughts straying to the man in her jail. She felt malevolent joy in the look on his face when the Scour had come into the room. 'Serves you right, you arrogant worm,' she thought with some glee.

She couldn't help but feel somewhat better when she recalled the look on her captives face. The blonde tresses that framed his face appeared even brighter when his face had blanched in terror. "I wonder how you feel now Ryushi. I assume that you're in pain, no" she thought aloud when she heard a scream echo from the dungeon.

The gleaming surface of the mirror on her wall began to ripple and a skeletal hand shot out from the glass. She had grown so accustomed to this sight that it barely fazed her anymore.

"Tatterdemalion, how goes the search," she asked her mummified companion.

**+++We still are not able to locate the whereabouts of Parakka+++** he said through a storm of static. He cocked his head slightly and his red eye whirred as it focused on Aurin. **+++My lady, you appear to be distressed+++**

"I am, but it is my problem," she said. She couldn't let the Jachyra know what the prisoner had done to her. A weep feedback was her only response. "Tell Corm to not bother me today. I do not wish to have a headache." 'Or rather I don't want an even bigger one,' she groused.

The Jachyra didn't respond, but he walked to her mirror and stepped through, leaving Aurin to her thoughts. She walked around her room, gazing out the glassless windows. The barren landscape held little beauty for her, but it did provide some solace from the torments of the day.

"I wonder if the prisoner is up to a visit," she said to the wastelands below her. The princess stood up and walked over to her door, pausing briefly to grab a Damper Collar from her nightstand.

As she made her way to the lower levels of Fane Aracq, she mulled over what she would say to Ryushi. She was only human, and his elfin face had made her feel…strange. She had to fight back a blush when he flashed her a cocky smile while she interrogated him. How she hated that smile. It annoyed her to no end, but the feelings it evoked.

The temperature dropped considerably when she reached the bottom of the palace, making her shiver slightly. She ordered the guards to go inside and put the collar on him and get her when they did. While she waited she studied the scene through the bars in the door.

One guardsman was holding down his tall lean frame while his partner snapped the collar around his throat. His weakness was evident, though the defiant spark in his eyes had not dyed. She swallowed when he looked at her, his face haggard and hair plastered to his brow with seat. Aurin stepped back when the door began to open, and recomposed herself.

"The prisoner has been subdued, princess," he said, the helm he wore muffling his voice slightly. She ignored him and walked into the cell. When she was inside, she looked at Ryushi, who was now lying on his cot, his arms and legs bound in chains. "Leave us," she ordered without looking back.

"Yes milady," came their reply.

Ryushi made no move to acknowledge Aurin so she walked over to him and leaned against the wall. "Did you enjoy your torture," she asked mockingly. She saw his shoulders tense but other than that he did nothing. "You would do well to learn that if you do not do as you're told, you will be punished," she said to the man beside her.

Again he did nothing that let her know he heard her. 'Why is he ignoring me,' she pondered, her anger growing slightly. "I have come here to talk with you," she stated. "If you wish to have a…pleasant life here, you should talk back," she said coldly.

Ryushi let out a sigh and turned over so that he could see her face. He had to admit, for a cruel and heartless tyrant, she was extremely attractive. "What do you want now," he asked, annoyance heavy in his voice. All he wanted was a little sleep, that Scour really did a number on him and he wanted rest. He didn't want to spend his time chatting away with his captor, but it was obvious she wasn't going to leave until she got what she wanted.

"To know more about you. I have never met a live resistance member before. I would like to know what it is you fight for," she responded.

He scoffed and smiled at her. "We fight for your death," he stated simply. "You really think that people are happy living that way they do? You and your father kill, imprison, and hurt people for no reason whatsoever and you wonder what we fight for," he asked incredulously. "We fight so that the children of today, and the children of tomorrow may know what true freedom is," he said.

She waited for him to calm down before she spoke again. "We are royalty. What makes you think you have any understanding of what goes on as we govern our people," she asked, anger peaking through her façade of calm.

"I don't know much about monarchy's but I do know that the common people should have a say in how their lives are affected. Even if we don't have the same education as you, we are still humans. I know this as well. People should not fear their governments. Governments should fear their people," he said before turning over and trying to capture a few minutes of rest.

Aurin, however, was not going anywhere. She silently stood by him and watched as his breathing slowed. His words had struck something deep within her heart. "What do you mean," she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

He stayed quite for a moment before glancing over at her. "I meant that the people in charge should be worried more about their peoples happiness that their own happiness. Power is two edged sword. When you get it, you also get a huge amount or responsibility," he said to Aurin. He gazed at her for a while, letting her absorb his words. He sighed and patted the sat up, patting the spot next to him. "Wanna seat," he asked.

Not knowing what to do, Aurin awkwardly made her way over to Ryushi and sat on the farthest edge of the bench. 'Why does he want me so close,' she ruminated. "Happiness is fleeting thing. Should I, as a ruler give up the authority I have and the control I have, just to give my subjects something as fickle as joy," she asked, not voicing the thoughts in the forefront of her mind.

"Making them happy will gain their respect," he said.

"I already have their respect," she snapped.

"No you don't. What you have is fear. Your people are afraid of you and that's why there aren't to many people that will openly defy you. If given the opportunity to rebel, most would. If you gain their trust and respect, you will still have authority and control, but you wouldn't have a bad name," he told the woman, who sat there like a dumbfounded child.

'His words ring true but it is to late to change now,' she thought. She stared at him and the two remained silent for a couple moments. "So," they both said in unison.

Aurin blushed slightly, never having had that happen before, and looked at Ryushi. He grinned and looked back at her. 'What's he so happy about?'

"Aurin," he said, using her name instead of the other mocking titles he had in their previous meeting.

"Yes?"

"For a cold and heartless witch, you're really cute when you blush," he said, laughing. His laughter was cut short when a slap rang out in the cell. The slap had not surprised him; in fact he knew he was going to be slapped.

What did shock him was the green and black energy seething around her hand. "Do not toy with me," she growled.

He rubbed his cheek and concealed his surprise with a small chuckle. "How did you know I like it rough," he asked cheekily, receiving another slap. What had happened she wondered? She thought they were actually getting along well. Why was he acting like this?

The mouth that had said words that made her heart flutter was now being used to torment her. "Do you think I'm weak," she screamed. "I'll show you how weak I am then," she said, slapping him with more and more force. The Flow coursed through her and she poured it out in every strike. She soon exhausted her strength and started staggering.

"Am I that weak you bastard," she mumbled and fell into his chest.

Not knowing what else to do, Ryushi wrapped his arms around her and carried her to the bench, laying her across it. "What got into you," he asked her sleeping form. He sighed and leaned against the wall, thinking about what had just happened.

"Why did you say that," she mumbled in her sleep, making Ryushi look over at her. "Ryushi stop," she moaned and fell silent.

"She's dreaming about me," he murmured, perplexed. He was about to walk over to her and shake her awake when he found he couldn't move. "What's going on," he wondered, feeling completely drained. His lasts sight was Aurin before he fell into a deep sleep.

Aurin awoke a couple of hours later, and sat up in a panic. 'This isn't my room,' she thought. Then memories of the day flooded into her mind and she looked around. She was still in Ryushi's cell, but where was he.

She looked around some more and saw him slumped over in the corner, his shoulders rising and falling with his breath. Swathed in moonlight, Ryushi looked unreal. He was an extremely attractive man and she felt an unusual touch of desire wash over her. 'What is this,' she wondered as she kept staring at his slumbering form.

She must have spoken her thoughts aloud, for Ryushi awoke with a start and looked around his chamber in a fright. When his gaze fell on Aurin he smiled slightly. "So you wanted to see what it's like," he said.

She was confused by his words. "See what, what was like," she asked.

"What it's like to sleep in one of your prisons. Trying to connect with your people some," he asked derisively.

Her eyes began to water slightly. Even after what had happened, he still thought it was fun to mock her. Did he know what he did to her heart? She felt so many foreign emotions running through her and it hurt to know he callously brushed them aside.

Ryushi took note of her tears and stopped talking. He never did like seeing girls cry, even when he was younger. "Aurin," asked tentatively.

"What," she barked. She was tired. Tired of his games and tired of having her heart be put through a loop.

"What's the matter," he asked, finding it a little humorous that he was trying to console his enemy. He was surprised when her tears increased.

"What's the matter? What's the matter," she shouted. "You are. You say things that make me think about how I'm a bad person and the way you say them makes me think you want to help me. Then you change your attitude and you're back to insulting me and taunting me," she screamed, standing up to her full height.

"You make my heart tremble when you smile. You make me want to be a better person and then you say something that hurts!"

He just sat there in shock. This was princess Aurin, daughter of his worst enemy and his jailer. She was saying things he never would have expected to hear.

"You know what Ryushi, fuck you! I'm tired of playing your games," she said turning to storm away but was stopped when his hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She slammed into his chest and looked up at him with tearstained eyes. Any words she was about to say were lost forever when he crushed his lips against hers.

Authors Note: That's the end of chapter one. Please review. The next chapter will be mainly about the same thing, just from Ryushi's POV. IF, I repeat, IF you want more chapters after that, let me know. Oh, I know I said I was going to put a LEMON in but I couldn't find a place for it. The next chapter will have it though, I promise. I just didn't think it would be appropriate to write one from a girl's POV, because I'm technically a guy, no matter how feminine I am.


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